There are many reasons to monitor DC (direct electrical current). For example, smart energy usage systems can use current data to monitor and manage the electrical power usage of a given electrical system. However, most conventional DC current sensors require invasive connections in a circuit, or are expensive or require a complex installation. For example, one conventional solution requires detaching the electrical wire, feeding it through a hole in the current sensor's magnetic core and reattaching the wire back to the connector or connecting one end to the sensor input and the other end to the sensor output. Thus, there is a major limitation of conventional current sensors of having to disconnect a potentially dangerous high DC voltage and high DC current and then re-wiring in order to install a current sensor.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a direct current sensor with a simplified installation that does not require disconnecting or touching of the DC wires.